Problems · by component

2001 Chevrolet Impala exterior lighting problems

73 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2001 Chevrolet Impala cite exterior lighting, 10% of all 747 complaints for this model year.

Complaints
73
10% of all complaints
Crashes
1
Reported by owners
Fires
1
Reported by owners
Injuries
0
Reported by owners
01 —Owner reports

What owners say about the exterior lighting

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“BOTH HEADLIGHTS UNEXPECTEDLY TURN OFF WHILE DRIVING. FLICKER ON AND OFF AND THEN GO OFF. USED TO BE ABLE TO LET THE CAR SIT A FEW HOURS AND THEY WOULD WORK AGAIN. NOW 2 NIGHTS AGO THEY WENT OFF WHILE DRIVING AT NIGHT....WON'T COME BACK ON AT ALL. PARKING LIGHTS STAY ON, TURN SIGNALS, AND 4 WAY FLASHERS STILL WORK, PULL SWITCH LEVER BACK FOR BRIGHT LIGHTS AND BOTH HEADLIGHTS WORK IN BRIGHT MODE AS LONG AS YOU KEEP HOLDING BACK ON THE LEVER. THIS WAS AN INTERMITTENT PROBLEM THAT NO ONE HAS BEEN ABLE TO FIGURE OUT. HAVE HAD IT LOOKED AT SEVERAL TIMES AND PROBLEM STILL EXISTS. REPLACED HAZARD FLASHERS SWITHC, REPLACED MUTLIFUNCTION SWITCH, REPLACED HEADLIGHTS SWITCH. PROBLEM STILL EXISTS. NOW LIGHTS ARE OFF AND WON'T COME BACK ON NO MATTER WHAT WE TRY.....LOOKING ON THE INTERNET THIS IS HUGE PROBLEM FOR IMPALA'S COVERING ALOT OF YEARS, THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS ISSUE WHEN YOU LOOSE YOUR HEADLIGHTS TOTALLY AT NIGHT WHILE DRIVING.......ONCE THEY GO OUT/OFF IT DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU STOP, PARK, MOVE, BANG ON THEM, WIGGLE WIRES AND CONNECTORS, THEY MAY OR MAY NOT COME BACK ON. SO FAR, THIS TIME, OURS ARE NOT COMING BACK ON......CAN'T KEEP THROWING MONEY AWAY TO A DEALER…”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Sep 8, 2020Exterior lightingODI 11353772
“TAKATA RECALL WHEN GOING TO FASTEN SEAT BELT IT WILL NOT FASTEN YOU HAVE TO MESS WITH IT A COUPLE TIMES BEFORE IT WILL LATCH AND SOMETIMES WILL UNLATCH WHILE DRIVING. TAKATA RECALL THE DRIVER FRONT BLINKER BULB HAS BEEN REPLACED MULTIPLE TIMES BUT AFTER BUYING NUMEROUS BULBS IT STILL WILL NOT WORK. TAKATA RECALL WHEN TURNING THE WHEEL LEFT WHEN I SLOW DOWN TO GO AROUND A CURVE IT TIGHTENS UP LIKE THE STEERING PUMP IS GOING OUT BUT IT ONLY DOES IT WHILE SLOWING DOWN TO TURN, ALSO WHILE DRIVING ITS LIKE THE VEHICLE IS ALL OVER THE ROAD SWAYING AROUND.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Apr 18, 2019Steering, Exterior lighting, Seat beltsODI 11197093
“DASH LIGHTS WENT OUT,REPLACED LIGHT SWITCH,BLOWS FUSE IF DASH LIGHTS ARE TURNED ON,HORN WILL COME ON WHEN CAR IS OFF.EARLIER BRAKE PEDDLE WORE WIRES BEHIND IT DOWN, CAUSED SHORT,CAR WOULD DIE WHILE DRIVING.LOW TIRE PRESSURE LIGHT ON,TIRES ARE FINE.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Nov 23, 2016Electrical system, Exterior lighting, Service brakesODI 10927741
“ON TWO SEPARATE OCCASIONS I'VE BEEN DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS AND WHEN I GO FROM BRIGHT TO DIM MY HEADLIGHTS SHUT OFF. THEY COME BACK ON SHORTLY AFTER, IT'S ONLY MY HEADLIGHTS AS I CAN SEE MY SIDE LAMPS ILLUMINATED. QUICKLY GOING BACK TO BRIGHT SEEMED TO BRING THEM ON QUICKER THE SECOND TIME THEY WENT OUT. THESE TWO ISSUES BOTH OCCURRED AS I WAS MEETING ANOTHER VEHICLE AND WENT FROM BRIGHT TO DIM. THEY OCCURRED OVER THE TIME PERIOD OF TWO MONTHS.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Nov 6, 2015Exterior lightingODI 10788863
“THE TURN SIGNALS STOP WORKING AND COULD POSE A SAFETY HAZARD AS TO NOT BEING ABLE TO SIGNAL WHICH DIRECTION YOU TRAVELING TO. SO OTHER DRIVERS WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO KNOW THAT YOUR ARE MAKING A TURN AND COULD RESULT IN A CRASH. THIS IS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM ON MANY GM VEHICLES NOT JUST THE IMPALA, SUCH AS GRAND AM, MONTE CARLO, OLDSMOBILE ALERO, AND MORE. THE PROBLEM IS IN THE HAZARD SWITCH RELAY WHICH ALSO CONTROLS THE TURN SIGNALS WHICH IS A DEFECTIVE PART AND PREMATURELY FAILS. GENERAL MOTORS SHOULD MAKE A RECALL WITH HOW MANY VEHICLES HAVE THIS PROBLEM AND IS A KNOW ISSUE ON MANY OF THERE CARS.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Oct 20, 2015Exterior lightingODI 10783548
“I BEGAN EXPERIENCING PROBLEMS WITH MY TURNING SIGNALS. APPROXIMATELY IN APRIL THEY BEGAN TO NOT WORK AUTOMATICALLY WHEN INSTRUCTED TO USE. IN RECENT MONTHS THEY MAKE NOISE AS THEY ARE INSTRUCTED TO BE USED AND WELL NOT FUNCTION PROPERLY. ALSO, THE EMERGENCY LIGHTS ARE INOPERABLE AT THIS TIME. *TR”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Sep 29, 2014Electrical system, Exterior lightingODI 10639740

Showing 6 of 73 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.

Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 10, 2026NHTSA vehicle page

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.